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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316120">Chopsticks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpulsiveWeaver/pseuds/ImpulsiveWeaver'>ImpulsiveWeaver</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Office (US)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fun, Humor, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:22:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,361</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpulsiveWeaver/pseuds/ImpulsiveWeaver</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A short little fic about Pete and Erin set immediately after the events of "Moving On". Enjoy!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Erin Hannon/Pete Miller</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Chopsticks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: Hey all! I wrote this little ficlet a little while ago, and I thought I'd just throw it on here just because. I know it may be a bit cliche and overrated, but I absolutely loved watching The Office, and even though I really think they did Andy dirty in the later seasons, I really like the Erin and Pete dynamic, so I wrote a little story about it! Enjoy! Remember that I do not own any of these characters!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pete sighed and let his head fall back against the headrest. Today had been the longest day of his life, and the only thing that Pete wanted to do now was drive home, flop onto his bed, and sleep until tomorrow. Currently he was sitting in his car in the Dunder-Mifflin parking lot, his vehicle being the only one in the lot that had yet to leave. Everyone else was already long gone, their days hopefully not feeling nearly as long as Pete's did. The source of his exhaustion had not been so much due to physical toil, but more so a mental one. Andy had not handled his breakup with Erin well, and apparently in his desire to get over her and move on, Andy had seen fit to bring one of Pete's exes <em>as well as</em> one of Erin's exes into the office as a form of payback. Pete supposed that to Andy, the only way to feel better was to make everyone else feel worse, and unfortunately, that exact effect had been achieved.</p>
<p>Just seeing Alice again had brought up a lot of memories that Pete would have gladly suppressed for the rest of his life, and after just briefly interacting with her again, Pete knew that he was in for a rough time.</p>
<p>When Pete had first met Alice back in college, he had to admit that he was very taken with her. To Pete, she had seemed like the whole package: good looks, smart as a whip, and very motivated towards her goals. Everything that she did she seemed to do with purpose, and it is what had drawn Pete to her in the first place. She would come into the library that Pete worked at to find material on marketing, and Pete quickly began to remember her due to the fact that she would come in almost daily to find and return books.</p>
<p>One day, Pete decided to take the leap and ask her out, and just like that, the two of them began dating. At first, Pete considered himself extremely lucky to have landed a girl like Alice, but before long, things began to take a turn for the worse.</p>
<p>As much as Pete admired Alice's drive and motivation, he had to admit that <em>he</em> was a bit lacking in that area during his time as a student. During his freshmen year, Pete had been a much more laid-back kind of guy and had really let himself become enamored with the party side of college life. And because of that…yes, he did drink more than he probably should have…and yes, there had been a few instances where he missed class due to late nights, but he liked to think that he quickly learned his lesson after almost failing his classes.</p>
<p>But despite him making strides to become more focused, it had done little to keep his relationship with Alice from turning rotten. Slowly, Pete began to see exactly who Alice really was apart from her looks and her drive. And as it turned out, Alice was a bit of a control freak. As much as she prided herself on her will and inner fire, it seemed that those were traits that she did <em>not</em> like to see in her partners. She had actually chosen to date Pete because he was more relaxed and easy-going, and as a result was far more prone to Alice's dominating nature. If Alice wanted to get together and do something, then they would, regardless of what plans Pete might have made already. If she wanted him to quit his job at the library and apply someplace else, then Pete would apply somewhere else. She had a distinct idea about who she wanted Pete to become, and for almost two years, Pete had been that guy for her. But as Pete slowly became more confident and in touch with who <em>he</em> wanted to be, the more he began to challenge Alice and her attempts to boss him around.</p>
<p>He began to refuse to reschedule time with his friends just because Alice wanted to do something that day, and he also began to ask himself more about what he wanted out of the relationship more than what she wanted. Slowly but surely, tension between them began to build as Alice realized that Pete was no longer directly under her control. She became more irritated with him as he became more independent, until one day, she snapped at him. Pete couldn't even remember the specifics or what the scenario was, but Alice had given him an ultimatum: either he did what she wanted, or they were over.</p>
<p>In hindsight, Pete supposed that the unpleasant shouting match that occurred after could have been avoided had he not made the choice as quickly as he did…</p>
<p>The breakup had been ugly despite Pete's best attempts to be cordial. While he had at least tried to end it on good terms, Alice seemed to take the split personally, leaving Pete with many angry voicemails for at least a month after they broke up. It had been rough, but Pete knew that it was for the best. He had been more than ready to move on with his life. And despite the many good things about her, Alice was just not a part of the future he envisioned for himself.</p>
<p>Pete took a deep breath and was about to reach for his keys to start the car when his phone began to buzz rhythmically from his hip pocket. Reaching back and producing the handheld device, he looked at the caller ID to see that it was none other than Alice calling him. Pete had unfortunately been expecting this call, as it was another quirk of Alice's that he discovered shortly after breaking up with her.</p>
<p>It had been about four months after the two of them had split, and Pete was well into his junior year at college when Alice had called him up out of the blue. She had stated that she felt bad about how their relationship had ended, and that she wanted to talk about things over lunch sometime. Pete had agreed and set up a time and a place. He hadn't found anyone new since their breakup, so he reasoned that if Alice wanted to start over and was willing to be a bit more accepting of Pete's decisions, then there was no problem with trying again with her.</p>
<p>That hope came crashing down quickly, however, as within the first week of dating again, Pete very clearly saw that Alice had not changed at all. Just like before, she had tried to boss Pete around and shape him into the partner she wanted. And just like before, Pete had resisted her controlling ways. The breakup that followed went about as poorly as the first time, and it was only after the fact that Pete learned why Alice had wanted him back in the first place. Contrary to Pete not finding (and not really looking, for that matter) a new partner after their first breakup, Alice had found a new boyfriend very quickly. Unfortunately for her, her new partner was even less submissive than Pete had been, causing the relationship to end very quickly.</p>
<p>As far as Pete could tell, Alice had decided to try again with him since he was the only guy she had dated for longer than a year, and her logic was that if she could just work on him some more, then he would slowly start to yield to her dominating demeanor. Unfortunately for her, Pete had no intention of letting that happen.</p>
<p>To Pete's extreme displeasure, Alice never seemed to fully give up on him. After they broke up for the second time, Alice had called him up nearly three months later saying that she wanted to try again. She had made promises that they could work things out this time, but by then, Pete was beyond tired of trying with her. He tried to respectfully decline her suggestion that they get back together, but as things tended to go between him and Alice, their conversation rapidly detracted from being described as civil.</p>
<p>And so began the cycle. Alice would find someone new, they would date for a while, they would break up, and Pete would get a call from her asking to start again. Attempting to block her calls was fruitless, as she would only reach out through other means, even going so far as to call Pete's place of work on one occasion, which was before Pete began working at Dunder-Mifflin. He quickly discovered that it was much better to field the calls and deal with Alice directly rather than try to ignore her, so it had almost become a chore of his to turn her down each time she came back to him. Thankfully the calls were as infrequent as they were unpleasant, so between then and now, Pete had only been called on four separate occasions. He really was not a fan of the fact that his phone unintentionally served as a device to keep track of how many people Alice was dating, but he endured it and tried to handle her calls as best as he could.</p>
<p>And now, staring down as his phone still buzzing politely in his hand, Pete guessed it was time for call number five. He could always just not answer it, but if he did that, Alice would harass him constantly until he talked to her. It was better to just get this over with now and enjoy the time after until he had to do it again.</p>
<p>Taking another deep breath, Pete answered the phone.</p>
<p>"This is Pete," he said plainly, keeping his voice level with practice.</p>
<p><em>"Hey Pete…It's Alice,"</em> came the all too familiar voice on the other end.</p>
<p>"Hello, Alice," Pete replied. If at all possible, he hoped to keep all of his responses at three words or less for the entire conversation. Unfortunately for him, the chances of that happening were very low.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Sooooo. It got really weird in there today, huh?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Yeah…" Pete said, trailing off as he did so.</p>
<p>
  <em>"What was up with that really thin weirdo? What was his name? Gabe?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Uh yeah…yeah…Gabe."</p>
<p>There was a slight pause, then Pete heard Alice sigh from the other end of the line.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Look, Pete. Today did not end how I wanted it to, and I think we both need to clear the air between us. How about we go get dinner or something and we can talk about it?"</em>
</p>
<p>Now it was Pete's turn to sigh.</p>
<p>"Look Alice, I really don't think there's anything more to talk about. Also, I'm really tired, so I think I'm just going to go home and try to forget about it."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Really? Nothing left to talk about? How about the fact that you're dating a receptionist, Pete? How about the fact that you have gone downhill ever since we broke up? How about the fact that you are stuck working a dead-end job at a failing paper company?"</em>
</p>
<p>"I know it may be hard for you to believe, but I actually like this job, Alice. The people here are…interesting, but I really enjoy coming to work and seeing them every day. And yes, I'm also happy with who I am with right now, receptionist or not."</p>
<p><em>"Right, of course,"</em> came Alice's snide reply. <em>"I completely forgot that your life is way better now than when we dated, right? Give me a break, Pete. You know what? How about I just call you again in about two or three weeks when you're through with your delusions. By then you'll have realized just what a mistake you've made and maybe act like an adult again. How's that sound?"</em></p>
<p>Pete was about to none-too-kindly tell her exactly how that sounded to him, but he bit his tongue at the last moment. There was no need to say anything more. This conversation was over.</p>
<p>"Take care of yourself, Alice."</p>
<p>He hung up without even listening for a reply. He doubted it would be something that he'd want to hear anyway.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Pete turned his attention back to starting his car when the phone in his hand began to buzz once more. Thinking that Alice was just trying to get the last word, Pete was totally prepared to let it go to voicemail when he saw that it wasn't Alice that was calling.</p>
<p>It was Erin.</p>
<p>Feeling greatly relieved, Pete answered the phone.</p>
<p>"Hey Erin," he said in greeting. "What's up?"</p>
<p><em>"Definitely not my spirits,</em>" came the tired reply. <em>"I really just want to crawl into a deep dark hole for the rest of my life and never come out. Except…maybe if there's a really good movie that I want to go see. Or if I want some ice cream."</em></p>
<p>Pete couldn't help but smile slightly then. Erin always found a way to make him smile. It was one of the things that he liked the most about her. His smile then fell a little bit.</p>
<p>"Erin, this is really my fault. I should have just kept my mouth shut and Andy never would have found out about us. I'm sorry."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Oh, nonononono. No. Pete, this isn't your fault. I knew what I was doing when I broke up with Andy, and if he wants to be a big jerk about it, then I'll just be a big jerk right back!"</em>
</p>
<p>The was a brief pause, then Erin's voice returned.</p>
<p>"<em>Actually, maybe I won't do that. That seems really mean, even if Andy totally deserves it for bringing Gabe back just to mess with me."</em></p>
<p>"Well," Pete said in reply. "You may not have to worry about that anymore. I think Andy fired both of them at the end of the day. When I left, their desks were completely empty, so I think we are off the hook."</p>
<p>
  <em>"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."</em>
</p>
<p>Erin's voice took on a slightly more embarrassed tone as she continued.</p>
<p>
  <em>"When Gabe and I first started dating, he thought it was romantic to surprise me at my apartment whenever he wanted to see me. It was really difficult to make plans around."</em>
</p>
<p>"Oh. Is he there right now?"</p>
<p>
  <em>"I don't know, I haven't gone home yet because I really don't want to deal with this anymore today."</em>
</p>
<p>"Well…how about we go have some dinner or something? If we make him wait long enough, maybe he will leave?"</p>
<p>Erin's voice notably perked up from the other end of the line at his suggestion.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Great! Are you still at the office?"</em>
</p>
<p>"Yeah, but I'm just about to leave. If you'd like to meet somewhere maybe we could—"</p>
<p>Pete was suddenly cut off as Erin's car zoomed into the lot, the tires screeching as they struggled against her enthusiastic driving. Pete could easily see her excited face as she whipped her car alongside his. Wasting no time, Erin turned off her vehicle and bounded out to Pete's passenger side. Due to his surprise, Pete barely had time to unlock the door before Erin pulled it open and slid swiftly into the seat.</p>
<p>"Hi!" she said happily, beaming at him. Pete smiled back, then realized sheepishly that he was still holding his cell phone to his ear and set it down.</p>
<p>"Hey! That was fast, did you have some errands to run nearby?"</p>
<p>"Oh! No. I just didn't want to go home, but I also didn't want to stay here, so I started driving in circles around the block."</p>
<p>"I see…" Pete said with a slightly perplexed nod. "I suppose between staying here and going home, that's a good compromise…"</p>
<p>"So, where do you want to go?" she asked, her usual happiness once again dominating her demeanor. For a second, Pete paused and just looked at her, her contagious smile quickly spreading to him and making him forget all about the horrible day he just had.</p>
<p>"What?" Erin asked. Her tone then grew slightly more serious. "I don't…I don't have something on my face, do I?"</p>
<p>She then began to touch her face and hair embarrassedly, her self-conscious side then rearing its cute but very unnecessary head.</p>
<p>Pete then leaned over and planted a quick peck on her lips, causing her to stop with her fidgeting and look at him confusedly.</p>
<p>"Sorry, but I'm just really happy to see you," Pete said, with a smile of his own. Turning his attention back to his keys, Pete began fumbling for the one that would start his car.</p>
<p>"So, I know this great Chinese place not far from h—"</p>
<p>Pete was suddenly cut off as Erin launched herself over the middle of the seat and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Before he could even react, Erin peppered his cheek with a few quick kisses of her own, then hugged him tightly for a moment, turning her head to rest comfortably on his shoulder.</p>
<p>"I'm really happy to see you too," she said softly. They sat that way for a little bit, Pete really enjoying Erin's warmth against his cheek, then she let go of him and returned to the passenger side of the car.</p>
<p>"Now, where is this Chinese place?"</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Pete had to admit, he really needed this. Sitting with Erin in the small Chinese buffet he had selected had done wondered to help him forget about what an awful day he had. Hearing her laugh at the jokes he told and watching how enthusiastic she could get never failed to make him happy. And as they continued to enjoy each other's company, Pete was once again reminded of how lucky he was to be dating such a ray of sunshine like Erin.</p>
<p>"So, wait…" Erin said after a short bout of laughter. "You really never learned how to use chopsticks?"</p>
<p>Pete smiled and shook his head in slight embarrassment.</p>
<p>"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "My parents both absolutely loathe Chinese food, so I didn't end up going to one until I was almost done with high school. And even when I went, I never really felt the desire to learn since using a fork is so much easier."</p>
<p>"Well, there's no time like the present!" Erin said boldly, grabbing Pete's pair of unopened chopsticks and pulling them free from the bag with a flourish. Presenting them to Pete as though they were a sword, Erin spoke her next words as though she were a nobleman from the Middle Ages.</p>
<p>"Your weapons, my liege. Handle them with care, for they are quite dangerous when used in the right hands!"</p>
<p>Pete was about to tell Erin that she didn't have to take it upon herself to teach him how to use the oriental utensils, but she was having fun, and hey, he might as well learn sometime.</p>
<p>"Thank you, squire!" Pete said, his voice imitating Erin's. "I will treat them with the utmost respect."</p>
<p>Seeing Erin's face light up again was priceless to Pete, and over the next half hour, he let her show him how to properly pick up food with the chopsticks. It felt very intimate when she would maneuver his fingers with her own to correct his grip, and before he knew it, he was able to pick up small pieces of chicken and vegetables with relative ease. Erin encouraged him all the way, and shortly after, Pete was able to wield chopsticks like a pro, his grip no longer clumsy and awkward as it had been all of the previous times he had attempted to use them.</p>
<p>Erin cheered loudly when he was able to pick up an entire eggroll, her volume startling the other patrons of the restaurant and causing the two of them to be on the receiving end of a few looks. Pete hardly noticed however, as he had not only managed to properly use chopsticks, but had turned the worst day of his life into one the best ones with the help of his girlfriend.</p>
<p>The good mood remained as they finished at the restaurant and climbed back into Pete's car. But on the way to drop Erin off back at her car in the Dunder-Mifflin parking lot, Pete could feel Erin's spirits drop next to him. Taking a wild guess as to the nature of her feelings, Pete reached with his right hand and took Erin's, gently rubbing the top of it with his thumb.</p>
<p>"You still worried that Gabe will be there when you get home?"</p>
<p>Erin said nothing, but Pete caught the slow nod out of the corner of his eye. He thought for a moment, then gave her hand a gentle squeeze.</p>
<p>"How about this? After we get to your car, I'll follow you back to your place. I can check to see if the coast is clear ahead of you, and if it isn't, then you can sneak in through the back. Sound good?"</p>
<p>There was brief pause of consideration, then Erin squeezed his hand in gratitude.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Pete."</p>
<p>Pete smiled, thankful that he could help Erin with her problem, but also thankful that he had found a reason to spend more time with his girlfriend. The sun had already gone down by the time they got back to the office, and it was at that time that they ran into a problem.</p>
<p>The gate was locked.</p>
<p>The two of them stared at the entryway for a moment, it standing as a prison that had locked Erin's car inside, leaving her without a vehicle until the gate could be opened tomorrow morning.</p>
<p>"I guess we stayed out later than I thought…" Erin mused softly.</p>
<p>"Well," Pete said, trying to make a light joke of the situation. "They say time does fly when you're having fun."</p>
<p>Erin gave a small smile, but then furrowed her brow in thought.</p>
<p>"But now I don't really have a way of getting home."</p>
<p>"I could drive you back to your place if you'd like," Pete said. "And then tomorrow morning I could drop by and give you a lift back here."</p>
<p>"Well…I suppose that could work," Erin said, a slightly mischievous smile appearing on her features. "But that's a lot of driving. Maybe you should sleep over tonight…"</p>
<p>She raised an eyebrow at Pete suggestively, causing him to give a small laugh in return. Pete had slept over before at Erin's place, and she over at his, so it wasn't like it was an uncomfortable situation.</p>
<p>"No arguments here," he replied. "But I would have to go back to my place first to get a change of clothes for work tomorrow."</p>
<p>"Oh! You could borrow one of my brother's work shirts!" Erin replied. "He's a bit smaller than you are, but I think it should fit alright!"</p>
<p>"I didn't know you had a brother," Pete replied interestedly. This was the first time Erin had brought him up, and he did not recall seeing anyone else living in Erin's apartment when he had been there.</p>
<p>"He's actually a foster brother," Erin replied before averting her eyes as though the subject was sensitive. "He moved out a little while ago…we don't talk much anymore."</p>
<p>Pete raised an eyebrow, but that seemed to be all that Erin wanted to share about the subject, so instead, Pete pulled away from the locked gate to Dunder-Mifflin and turned in the direction of Erin's apartment.</p>
<p>"Alrighty then," he said with finality. "Looks like I'm sleeping over!"</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>As it turned out, Pete did not end up sleeping much that night, or in the morning for that matter, and when he walked into the office of Dunder-Mifflin that day, that fact became apparent to almost everyone that saw him. His hair was more disheveled than usual, but not enough for anyone to notice if they weren't looking. He supposed that some could have guessed based off of how late he was and how both he and Erin had walked in at the same time, but the real giveaway came in the form of his work shirt, which looked as though all of its stitches were being given a workout.</p>
<p>Evidently, Erin's foster brother was in fact quite smaller than Pete in terms of upper body shape, and what looked to be a good fit on Erin's brother was a little less so on Pete. The buttons held, but the slight strain could be seen all around the shirt, showcasing more of Pete's upper form than he would have liked.</p>
<p>As he walked in, Pete tried to ignore the miscellaneous stares he received from his co-workers. He heard Meredith cat call him once from her desk against the opposite wall, but he said nothing and did not stop until he was safe inside the annex.</p>
<p>Pete carefully sat down so as not to rip any of the stitching, and from the desk on his right, Clark raised an eyebrow at his desk mate's wardrobe malfunction.</p>
<p>"Might want to consider buying a size up next time, dude," Clark said, gesturing to Pete's attire with his pen.</p>
<p>"Really?" Pete asked, feigning surprise. He spared a glance down to his shirt, which he doubted he would be able to take a deep breath in without ripping it, then shrugged slightly. "I guess I probably should."</p>
<p>Clark frowned at Pete's nonchalant response, then leaned over to gaze out of the window and into the main office, where he could see Erin getting settled in at reception and trying to fix her slightly disheveled hair as well.</p>
<p>That was all the evidence Clark needed, and he gave Pete a quick wink and a thumbs up before returning to his work.</p>
<p>Pete ignored his co-worker's response, but he glanced up from over the top of his computer to reception as well just in time to catch Erin's eye. His girlfriend gave him a knowing smile that he returned warmly, then he settled in to the day's work, feeling a lasting warmth in his chest that refused to go away.</p>
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